Gregory House
This article is about '''the character'. For info about the show, see House (TV series).'' Gregory House, often abbreviated as House, is the main character and protagonist of the House series. Background Gregory House, M.D., (almost universally referred to as "House" and rarely as "Greg" or "Dr. House") was born on June 11, 1959, (the birthdate of Hugh Laurie) to John House (R. Lee Emery), a Marine pilot, and Blythe House (Diane Baker) a housewife. As his father served on active duty through most of House's childhood and adolescence, House has lived in a variety of countries where his father was stationed, several of which, such as Egypt and Japan, have been identified in the series. House was obviously a bright child; a mixed blessing as his demanding father and loving mother obviously had high hopes for him. House cultivated a variety of interests, such as chemistry and playing the piano, which have served him well into adulthood. However, it appears that his isolation from people his age and his poor relationship with his parents left him to become something of a loner. It is intimated that he frequently rebelled against his father and was punished as a result, although it is not clear whether this was physical abuse or merely emotional isolation. It was during his visit to a Japanese hospital that House met up with a hospital janitor who was, nevertheless, the person with the most medical knowledge in the hopital. The incident convinced the young House to become a doctor as all the personnel in the hospital listened to the janitor when they needed to. This would tend to indicate that the young House, although knowledgeable in his youth, was often ignored by those in authority who thought they knew better. House was a good student and obtained admission to John Hopkins Medical School. However, he was caught cheating by the man who he later treated as his arch nemesis, Dr. Weber, and was expelled. Despite his academic misconduct, he was accepted at the Medical School of the University of Michigan, where he became a legend and first came to the attention of a young undergraduate student, Lisa Cuddy. House's medical career before he joined Princeton-Plainsboro is shrouded, but it appears that although his skills as a diagnostician were unparalleled, his disregard for the finer points of medical ethics, his inability to work well with other people (both subordinates and supervisors) and what appears to be a disregard for routine work made him almost unemployable. House is currently the head of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital's Department of Diagnostic Medicine. Disability Several years before the start of the series, House suffered an infarction in his leg. Unfortunately, the only symption was leg pain, and by the time House himself realized that he was suffering from muscle death, the leg was in such a bad state that amputation was the recommended course of action. However, House rejected the suggestion and instead underwent a procedure to bypass his circulation around the dead muscle. The result was intense pain during the healing process, which nearly resulted in a cardiac arrest until he was put into an induced coma. However, while he was in the coma, his girlfriend and medical proxy Stacy Warner decided to go with a suggestion of Dr. Cuddy and to have the dead muscle surgically removed. Although this most likely saved House's life, it left him with permanent intense pain in his right leg. As a result of the pain, House became addicted to the narcotic pain killer Vicodin. Although House realizes he is addicted, he believes the Vicodin is the only thing that will overcome the pain and allow him to function. However, his dependence on the drug has gotten him into trouble on several ocassions, and his colleages are unsure whether House's anti-social personality traits are the result of his addiction. Psychology While his medical prowess is world-renowed, he could be characterized as a flawed hero - while he has significant prowess in medical diagnosis, his methods to come about such diagnosises are often ethically incorrect: violating laws, trespassing into patient's homes, physical assaults, etc... House can be described as poorly socialized... he does not suffer fools gladly and is not hesitant to challenge anyone he believes is misinformed or unintelligent. This trait tends to infuriate everyone, including patients, their families, his staff, his friends, and his boss Dr. Cuddy. The fact that House is rarely wrong about anything he challenges others about is perhaps his only saving grace in this respect. House has no tolerance for what he believes is straightforward, routine or boring. He rarely properly completes a patient's chart. He does everything he can to avoid clinic duty with its myriad of simple diagnoses and routine illnesses. Gregory House is portrayed by the actor Hugh Laurie. Sherlock Holmes References :Main page: Sherlock Holmes connections *House lives at the address, 221b Baker Street, the same as Sherlock Holmes. *House's friend is Doctor James Wilson, Holmes' is Doctor John Watson *"House" is a synonym of "Home", which is a homonym of "Holmes" *Both have drug issues Related links *Gregory House on Wikipedia